Research Abstract
Our translational research program focuses on improving outcomes for people with breast cancer by understanding how aging and immune fitness shape tumor initiation, metastatic progression, and therapeutic response.
Recognizing that older adults comprise the majority of breast cancer patients yet remain underrepresented in clinical trials and experience worse outcomes, our group has launched integrated laboratory and clinical studies aimed at defining age-related biology and developing safer, more effective treatments for patients across the lifespan. In collaboration with our clinical colleagues, we have established a well-annotated tissue biobank to support these efforts. Our work indicates that therapies considered ineffective in one age group may demonstrate greater activity in another, highlighting the importance of incorporating aging biology into research and drug development.
Our work is also focused on understanding and preventing relapse driven by therapy-resistant metastatic disease. Despite treatment, >30% of patients with early-stage breast cancer will relapse. However, the biological events underlying metastatic seeding and chemoresistance remain poorly defined, in part due to limited tools for detecting and functionally interrogating rare disseminated cells. To address this gap, we developed a clonal barcoding platform that enables identification, quantification, and functional analysis of early metastatic cancer cells in preclinical models of breast cancer progression and aging. These approaches are enabling us to uncover biomarkers of progression and chemoresistance and evaluate therapeutic strategies aimed at eliminating the rare cells driving lethal disease.
